Congregation Visitations Fall 2025

“By the rivers of Babylon—

there we sat down, and there we wept

when we remembered Zion.”

Psalm 137:1 (NRSVue)

This morning I worshiped with a very small congregation of people who, between them, care for three sets of church buildings in The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina. We reflected together on Psalm 137 and what it means to live in a sort of exile …not like the people of Israel in Babylon, but as a people of faith who live in a very different world than the one in which we were formed in faith. We also reflected on what it means to have the faith of a mustard seed, and what it means for us to rekindle the gift of God that is within us.

Today, I was reminded of the faithfulness of so many good people across this diocese that I have served as bishop and I give thanks to God for them.

My first visit to St. Andrew’s in Columbia took place in the early fall of 2014, when I was bishop-elect and accompanied Bishop Peter Lee on his Sunday visitations. Today was likely my last visit to St. Andrew’s. It was good to be with the people of this small, faithful congregation, to worship with them and to share a meal afterward. Most faces were familiar, but at least five were new to the congregation since my last visit …always a good and welcome sign of God at work bringing new life!

I took the long way home, driving south from Columbia past Lake Matamuskeet to Highway 264, west to Washington and south on Highway 17 to New Bern, across the bridge to Highway 70 and then home. A peaceful drive on roads that led me through a beautiful part of God’s world.

Many thanks to the people of St. Johns Episcopal Church in Grifton for their warm welcome this morning. When I last visited with them, two years ago, we worshiped in the parish hall as a wind storm had taken the roof off of their church building and it was still under repair. Their love and care for one another is evident, as is their care for their place of worship where people have gathered for 180 years. Each of us has a choice …may we forever choose love over hate!